8 month old won't drink from bottle / cup Post Reply

[ElFen]

Does anybody have any advice...my 8month old simply will not take any liquid from a bottle or cup. He's always been breastfed but he is due to start nursery in 2 weeks time when I go back to work and I'm starting to get very nervous that despite all our efforts he will still refuse a bottle. We have tried so many different bottles & cups, made them toys, given when hungry / not hungry etc etc but he has a tantrum if we ever try to feed him breast milk / formula / water. He is a calm boy generally but this dissolves him into wracking sobs. He's currently settling in at nursery and refused the bottle there too (& all sid foods!).

Does anybody have any advice that might help make things click for him or any recommendations of anyone professional who might be able to help us? At the moment I can't see how I'm going to be able to leave him to be able to go back to work and am feeling so stressed about it all.

[nhyw]

Have you tried a cup with a straw, as this really worked for my son who was primarily breastfed but did also accept milk in Medala Calma bottles. He didn't like the sip cups at all and the straw was a big success.

[nhyw]

Also meant to add that we used the cups with the soft bendy type of straws, the ones we got were from the USA and he still uses them to this day, but you can get them on UK amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playtex-Insulat ... straw+cups

After discovering the the success of the stars cups I later read an article in the USA where straw cups far outsell sippy cups that breastfed babies often prefer a straw to other types of cups. I wish I had read that article sooner instead of having to spend loads of money trying almost every type of cup on the planet!

[szerma]

Hello, we had the same issues with our daughter, although when she was 3 months old. It is a myth that it is about the shape of teat, this is all about them realising that milk doesn't just come from mummy. We also went through heartbreaking tantrums. It is easier if it is not you, ie your hubby or someone else, tries, as otherwise you smell of milk to them!

We just tried a bit at every feed. Gave her an empty bottle to play with when she was in a good mood, to let her nibble and get used to the teat. Gave her a little bit of milk in a bottle when she was happy and playing, in a bath. It was a real struggle for days on end but finally she took a bit, and the next day she took the whole feed. They say you should wait till they are hungry but I found it too heartbreaking.

Good luck - he will do it eventually!